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Sunday, 31 August 2014

A couple of weeks ago I was flattered to be nominated by Debs for ( no, not the ice bucket challenge).....this Creative Blog Hop thing.

Every Monday crafters all over the world write a post about themselves and why they do what they do, you never know who you might meet.

This week it's my turn and at the end I will introduce you to 3 more talented crafters.Please keep the circle going and say hi to them this week. They will each write a longer post next Monday too.

A bit about ME ;

I am not very good at talking about myself.... not sure I have anything interesting to say.But here goes.......

I have been crafting all my life.... I just didn't know it. I have a school report aged 7 that says "Janet is very good at cutting and sticking"..... 'nuff' said.My employment history was originally in catering.... cooking, cake decorating and crafting ... Its all the same. I still enjoy baking, especially with my 3 year old Granddaughter. While my 3 girls were small I enjoyed doing crafts with them and sewed and knitted for them as well. It was always difficult though because of a lack of space. Finally this happened;

I now have my own dedicated craft room... even though a daughter had to move out first.In recent years my crafting has taken a new turn ... more for myself... lacemaking, beading, patchwork, knitting, card making, scrapbooking, mixed media, embroidery, both hand and machine and most recently pottery , tatting and dressmaking. I recently won a sewing Bee Competition. About 3 years ago a work colleague suggested I started a blog to document my 'makes' which I did. ( I just looked it up and it was 29th October 2009...... OMG) .Then in December 2010 I found WOYWW ( what's on your workdesk Wednesday) a lovely group of crafters who upload a photo of their workspace once a week. It is great fun, inspiring but very addictive and I have met and made some lovely friends in real life too.Now my room looks like this, its my creative haven.

Another little known fact about me .... I am slightly addicted to craft magazines

A blog friend asked me recently if there was anything I didn't do..... of course there is ... mostly involving housework and the ironing ! I just love trying new techniques.However with my family expanding with more Grandchildren I am always under pressure to produce more ...... 3 weddings in 4 years was quite a challenge.I love it and find myself spending more and more time crafting, much to the amusement of my long suffering husband or to give him his blog name ' my handyman'. He really is a very patient man.

I also work 3 days a week in a fabric store..... in the craft section of course. Life is full of juggling, often stressful.... but never boring.

I am supposed to answer 4 questions

1.... what am I working on now

I always have a lot of things on the go

All this year I have been participating in the Documented Life Project ......a year long journal challenge. The idea is to create a page per week using the given prompt.this page was " Add a house ".

this one was add a fortune cookie

And this is some of the UFO's I am working on.MDF container and money box, a painting for my bedroom, patchwork, mini tapestry, decopatch, MDF gecko, goldwork, a glasses case, machine embroidery to be framed, Altered book, beaded picture to be framed, knitting, DLP journal, lots of beading .. making and mending, tatting and finally blackwork...... phew!

2....How does my work differ from others in my genre.

I don't know if I have my own style or belong to a particular genre either..... I make so many different things....... I like diversity.. I tend to do the style appropriate for the person I am making it for, but as a choice.... I don't really do 'cute'.

3.... Why do I create what I do

Short answer ... I don't know ... I just need to ... It's a big part of me and who I am. Well a girls gotta do ... What a girls gotta do. right? I am a bit of a craft butterfly... flitting from project to project.

4.... How does my creative process work ?

Short answer ... No idea.

I don't usually plan. Stuff just happens! no really it does..... I usually start with a vague idea and I see where it takes me... sometimes good ... and sometimes not. Many of my regulars will know I'm not good at following patterns, I just have to change things .... this bag is no exception and has caused me a lot of problems and taken 3 times as long as it should have.

I make a lot of presents for people and the item I make is usually connected to them in some way.... If a friend likes buttons I will make something with buttons or geckos or the colour purple. I get inspiration from .... Life really My crafting usually has a purpose or an aim......I wish I had more time to just..... play and say what if........... Pintrest is great for inspiration but you can loose a week just looking ..... I like to ....Just do it.

Lucy, 33, from Winchester, England believes that the pheasant has no agenda. She also believes firmly in cross stitching. After taking it up properly in 2010, and finding it therapeutic decided to expand past quaint pictures of flowers into commissions of music band logos, a wedding portraiture, wedding and birth samplers, Christmas cards and designs she put together herself with the aid of graph paper. Do you want more, visit me next Monday

Cannot claim, like so many others, to have had an interest in crafting since an early age. It is so long ago I cannot remember LOL. I do know that my mum was good at making dresses for me though. I would come up with some idea for a dress and before long I was wearing it, sadly I did not inherit her talent but I did make some of my own dresses and little suits for my son. In fact he still says that once I made him some trousers and left a straight pin in which pricked his leg - I don’t remember - but he does and says I wouldn’t believe him.

I worked as secretary to the local District Education Officer before venturing into teaching and went into the high school sector in my early thirties teaching ceramics as my main subject. This changed over the years and I ended up teaching Business Studies and Art. My main love was when I was appointed Careers Adviser, I put my heart and soul into that along with the work experience for the pupils. It was during my teaching life that I decided to do a parachute jump for our school outdoor pursuits centre which needed some money raising. Big mistake, I broke my ankle rather badly.

As a result of my broken ankle I had several operations over the years and it was whilst I was off for a full year that my friend introduced me to Parchment Craft. I loved it - until she brought some gold embossing powder, a rubber stamp and a heat gun - I was sold! Like so many I can hear you all saying. Well, that was it. I love my paper crafting, love altered art but don’t have enough time to do it and am desperately trying to get into fabric art.

At the moment I demonstrate at three of the northern shows (Leigh, Harrogate and Newark) and I love it. Apart from that I do what I can when I can but admit to doing a lot of ‘dreaming' when trying to work something out for a special card or gift which does waste time. Wonder how many of you recognise that?

"Hi I’m Nicki, and I blog at “Il Magpie Miscellanea Di S” ( The Magpie’s Miscellany). I was surprised and very honoured when Janet told me she wanted to nominate me for this blog hop. I love to craft and have never limited myself to one type of craft, I couldn't if I tried (hence nicknaming myself “The Magpie”)! I use my blog to share my crafting adventures with anyone who is interested and to remind me to enjoy my life and creativity. I love to chat with kindred spirits and am always looking for the next adventure!"

Thank you ladies

If you made it to the end without switching off..... well done ... I'll put the medal iin the post... Well give me a couple of weeks ... I've got a lot on.

I am planning to finishing all the UFOs on the table .... You heard it here first folks, I wonder how long it will take me?

I'm in the middle of making a bag. Using up some of those zips I have had on my desk for a few weeks .... Well that was the plan.... But none of them were the right colour/size / type .... Oh well c'est la vie.

The little yellow pot has my wonder clips in ... Magic little clips I use instead of pins

Here's the bag......

I love this fabric. I'm making it as a carry on bag for our trip to Colorado next month.... Just in case there is any mistaking us for locals. Lol

I have also found a cure for piles ... On my usual desk.....

Boxes

I was recently given 10 of these beauties I haven't filled all of them yet .... Give me time .... Just give me time.

If you would like to know more about me and my schtuff, I am joining in with The Creative Blog Hop next Monday so pay me a visit if you can.

Anyway that's all folks if you would like me to visit you back .... please leave your name and number so I can find you.

Friday, 22 August 2014

Don't know if Annie is posting this week but I bet she is smiling after the move.

Every year my one piece of gardening ( handyman does the rest) is the hanging basket next to my front door.

So welcome to my house and I hope it makes you smile too. I would offer you a cuppa but you will have to have one at yours so pull up a chair and join in the fun. I have added last weeks link as I'm not sure she will be able to post this week as she doesn't have broadband yet

Tuesday, 19 August 2014

Well it's been all go here in the fairy grotto this week but sadly not crafting.......

My desk is more like a dumping ground here is a long shot

I moved the boxes so you can see closer up ; A background for my DLP which I really must use before I run out of weeks, glittery felt pens (Erin), a die cut flower (not sure where that came from), a little pink heart (Erin), some ribbon (cut out of a top), the bag of zips .... still
Not much else really .... must try harder next week..... any questions .... just ask :-)
I did make a card for DD1 and SIL for their 3rd wedding Anniversary, they have had a baby since their last one.

......Love the Octopode factory stamps. I have used this one for them before... the snail is a family joke
I did finish my first piece of tatting

I am teaching myself from a book.... something I am not very good at. If it hadn't been for a lovely lady customer who showed me how to slip the stitch I don't think I would have got it ... Even you tube didn't help.

Anyway, that's what's on my desk this week.... sorry its a bit boring.
Want to see much more interesting work places then visit head desker Julia at stamping-ground its all very organised .... and addictive so watch out!
Thanks for visiting I will be at work all day today but if you are in this evening I might just visit you back..... if you leave your Mr linky no so I can find you
janet

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

Hi Deskers
My desk has been taken over this week... regular visitors will probably guess by whom.... she took the photo too... yes it was my 3 year old GD Erin.
WOYWW is open to everyone, whatever age or creative ability. Checkout the details here stamping-ground. Professor Julia is in charge, there is no exam and no marking system..... just fun and inspiration.
Here's Erin's desk..... looks a bit like my old one! still with the bag of zips minus 1 I used on a skirt.

Lots of sticky letters..... not sure what she was trying to write....... next an action shot

Earlier in the week I finished 2 weeks of my Documented Life Journal the first page was to include a fortune cookie. I couldn't buy any here so I looked on the internet for inspiration .... and a funny fortune. My first attempts at painting and drawing.

The challenge this week was to use underpaper in a creative way.

I like this page so I didn't want to cut or cover it up so I decorated a piece of acetate to lay over the top.

I was inspired by the fabulous poppy instillation at the Tower of London which opened this week

This is the two pages together.... I left them loose so I can see the pages separately.
Finally this is what I am working on at the moment (full of cold so something easy.... but not simple)..... I'm trying to Tat.

Thanks for looking and well done if you made it to the end.
If you are kind enough to leave a comment please leave your Mr Linky number so I can get back to visit you too.
hopefully next week normal service will be resumed (whatever that is )
Janet aka fairythoughts
Ps this is what I used 2 of the marbles on last week... they went in my thumb pot before it was fired so they melt and make a fabulous glassy bottom.

Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Hi Deskerswell its Wednesday again ... so soon?Time to show what we have been working on in your crafty space, lots of us do it and its all the big idea of Auntie Julia see all the details here stamping-ground. Its great funAnyway here's my desk....surrounded by little piles of stuff.

My desk left to rightInky sponges.... happy mail from another documented life project member.....my reply to her....my DLP journal ... awaiting the next page .... big bag of zips ( I have plans for those.......) some Disney ribbon, Japanese paper for yet another future project and a couple of packs of ink pens. Happy mail seems to be a big deal on DLP I have done much of it because of time limits but it was lovely to receive it.... here is a close up of the envelope I decorated.

The back

The front

A strange phenomenon seems to be happening around my desk .... there are piles growing.... something like this .... not sure where they are coming from .... its not me ... honest (snigger, snigger)

Crochet needle case and frozen ribbon hair slide WIP

Left overs from happy mail making

Name sign WIP

The snippets box (oh dear)

A bag of marbles ????? ......and sprayed stuffThere is lots more but would just be boring, so that's it from me for this weekI will try and get round to visit all of you that are kind enough to comment, it may take all week .... its time consuming, this blogging lark you know.janet

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folksy

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This thing in my head

i worked part time at a local department store . . in the craft dept of course, they payed me to play with and sometimes even sell lovely craft stuff. i love to try new techniques and experiment with everything crafty. Since my diagnosis of a brain tumour I haven't been doing very much Obviously , but now I'm home on paillliative care
I might have more energy to do more if I'm allowing too that is.
Don't seem to be able to consent rate on my complicated tank top pattern for kilian though so the question is whether or not to be the same as the back pattern make the front differently